In his limited experience, Stinger finds Terristials are not that much different than any other person in the Verse.
More ignorant perhaps, but not all that much different from anyone else. There's a certain amount of pity, Stinger knows, that fills his heart each time he has to interacts with one. Heavy as a stone, eating at him. They talked and laughed and cried and lived their lives. Not knowing their fate was probably the best part of them, however. A certain amount of envy filled him each time he talked to one or even saw one. Because that amount of ignorance was something he wished he had sometimes. Because they didn't know. They had no idea how disposable they really were, just like him.
Kiza was fascinated by them. An innocent fascination that broke his heart each and every time she showed him the spoils of her latest outing into the human world.
Because she was always wanting to go and learn more.
She begged for sheeves, and for the primitive books or magazines that they sold.
Stinger was usually reluctant to indulge her, but then his little larva would look up at him, and do this thing with her eyes that made him bring her another teen magazine or something like that. Now she wanted to meet their new neighbors. The ones that he had sold some property to, the old house at the very edge of 'his' holdings on Earth had been superfluous. The chain of command had confirmed his request application to sell it, once they had realized that the Terrestrial that wanted the property was fairly affluent in the local government and too much of a hassle to try and divert him away from it. Stinger had thought to convert the old building into an additional hive space but otherwise didn't think twice about the loss.
But this was different. Meeting Terrestrials so close to them was too much for Kiza to ask of him. Occasional outings for supplies were one thing. His larva could talk all she wanted, brief conversations with the locals were deemed acceptable according to his Aegis sheeve of conduct.
Forming a true friendship with one was another matter altogether.
It was, technically not against any official rule. But the implication of separation was pretty much an unspoken law.
"DA! ONE OF OUR HIVES HAS GONE BERSERK ON THE NEIGHBORS PROPERTY!" came Kiza's desperate yell.
If that girl let loose a hive to make friends she's grounded.
But one look at her alarmed face told Stinger that wasn't the case. His little larva was ultimately an honest sort of girl, and he knew when she was cooking something up. Her face was telling him that this was a true emergency.
With a sigh, Stinger followed her as she turned into their cornfield.
BUZZ BUZZ MY LOVELIES!
